Hefty volume on Ali packs a punch in both weight and price

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, March 7, 2004

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The young Muhammad Ali.

The young Muhammad Ali.

Hefty volume on Ali packs a punch in both weight and price

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At 6 feet and 195 pounds, Muhammad Ali would barely qualify as a heavyweight today. But a new book will. "Greatest of All Time: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali" weighs in at 75 pounds, with more than 3,000 photos by 200 photographers, plus essays and excerpts by more than 50 authors.

It has taken German publisher Taschen four years to create the "limited edition" book. In late April, 10,000 copies will be released, each one numbered and autographed by Ali.

The book is not merely large. It's pricey. The "Champ" edition (Nos. 1- 1000) includes four silver gelatin prints by Howard L. Bingham and a "sculptural piece" by Jeff Koons; the "Collectors" edition (numbers 1001-10, 000) comes with a photo litho by Jeff Koons. With the "Champ" priced at $7,500 and the "Collectors" at $3,000, neither edition is exactly accessible to the masses; let's hope some benevolent soul donates copies to libraries.

The Northern California Book Awards each year show off Bay Area authors' contributions to American letters. Given annually by the Bay Area Book Reviewers Association, the awards will be presented March 24 in the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Main Library, in the following categories:

BABRA.

Misfortune postponed: Little, Brown has bumped the pub date for the first novel by singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding -- formerly of San Francisco, now residing in New York. Titled "Misfortune," it's the first of two historical novels to be published under the name on his birth certificate, John Wesley Stace. "They decided that -- with the election, normal pre- Christmas rush, etc. -- the beginning of next year is better," he told us. "And I'm sure they're right. The book is done either way."

-- A novel with a soundtrack? George Pelecanos, author of "Hard Revolution" (the latest in his series of police thrillers, reviewed on Page M6), not only made the selections for a CD (available at his book signings and through his Web site, www.georgepelecanos.com), he also wrote the liner notes:

"For many years now, readers have been encouraging me to put out a music CD that would accompany my books. With this new novel, I felt the time had come. Throughout the turbulent '60s, people listened to these songs in their cars and bedrooms, danced to them at clubs or slow-dragged to them at house parties bathed in blue light. This was the best of deep soul, describing the joy and pain of love, played and sung with mind-blowing passion, coming through the radio as the fury was building on the street."